Robert Matthews enters his third season as the offensive coordinator for the University of South Alabama football program, and his first leading Jaguar quarterbacks.
Last fall, six individuals from the unit earned all-Sun Belt Conference accolades after the Jags averaged better than 425 yards and nearly 30 points per outing, which included a school-record 252.75 yards per game through the air.  Wes Saxton (first-team) and Shavarez Smith (second-team) were recognized after each set a school season record with 50 receptions — the latter also had a program-best 940 yards — while ranking in the top 10 in the league in both receptions and receiving yards per contest.  Ross Metheny and Jay Jones were second-team and honorable mention selections, respectively, after the former paced the Sun Belt with 268.8 total yards per game while standing among the top 50 individuals nationally in that category, pass efficiency rating and passing yards per game and the latter rushed for 737 yards — the second-highest season total in the program’s record books — and five scores.
Matthews, who was in charge of offensive linemen his first two years with the program, also had two individuals honored up front by the conference. Â Chris May was a first-team choice and Ucambre Williams was named second-team after helping the Jaguars allow an SBC-low 1.42 sacks per outing as the unit broke school season records set the previous fall with 3,033 yards passing, an average of 252.8 yards per game through the air and 265 first downs..
With Matthews’ guidance, USA tied for the lead nationally with just four fumbles and ranked fifth in the country in turnovers lost.
Under his direction, the Jag offense set school records during the 2012 campaign in completions (244), passing yards (2,728), yards per game through the air (209.8) and first downs (252).  Metheny set a new school season mark with 189 completions while becoming the first USA quarterback to surpass 2,000 yards passing — he would finish with 2,148 while ranking in the top 10 in both passing and total offense yards per outing.  Three Jaguar wide receivers would finish among the top five on the program’s season record list for both catches and receiving yards as well, highlighted by the performance of Jeremé Jones, who finished with 45 receptions for 513 yards and a school-record seven touchdown catches.
And, in the classroom, starting center Trey Clark became the first USA football player to earn Academic All-America accolades.
Prior to joining the USA staff, Matthews was part of the Southern Mississippi staff for two seasons, serving as tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator in 2011 while helping the Golden Eagles to a 12-2 finish and the 2011 Conference USA championship.  USM defeated then sixth-ranked Houston 49-28 in the C-USA title game, then earned a 24-17 victory over Nevada in the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl; the Golden Eagles would also beat Western Athletic Conference champion Louisiana Tech and bowl participant Virginia while ranking in the top 20 nationally in both scoring (15th, 36.86 points per game) and total (16th, 461.36 ypg) offense.
USM averaged better than 200 yards per outing both rushing and passing in 2011, which included collecting a league-best 205.14 yards per contest on the ground.  It was the second straight season that the Golden Eagles recorded better than 200 yards per game rushing and passing; in Matthews’ first year on the staff — he served as a staff assistant working with the offensive line — USM posted a then school-record 5,894 total yards while accomplishing the feat.  The Golden Eagles would participate in the Beef ‘O’ Brady’s Bowl and end the campaign with eight victories.
Matthews served in various roles the previous four seasons at Oklahoma State, where he was part of a staff that guided the Cowboys to four bowls games during that span.  As the program’s quarterbacks coach in 2009, Matthews helped OSU to a 9-4 record — which included a 6-2 mark in the Big XII Conference — and a berth in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic.  He was the Cowboys’ director of recruiting in both 2007 and ’08, and served as OSU’s coordinator of football operations in his first year with the program; while in the former role, Matthews’ responsibilities included directing the school’s walk-on program as well as other internal operations.
During his tenure on the Cowboy staff Matthews worked with a pair of future National Football League quarterbacks, Zac Robinson and Brandon Weeden, with the latter chosen in the first round of the 2012 draft by the Cleveland Browns.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in exercise science from Georgia, adding a master’s degree from the school in science education.  Matthews played three seasons for the Bulldogs, and in addition to being part of Outback and Peach Bowl champion squads he was named to the Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll on three occasions.
Before moving to the collegiate level, Matthews was tight ends coach and special teams coordinator at Oconee (Ga.) High in 1999, Camden County (Ga.) High’s wide receivers coach and special teams coordinator the following fall and offensive coordinator at North Gwinnett (Ga.) High for two seasons from 2001-02.  He also served three seasons as head coach at Shiloh (Ga.) High, where in addition to guiding the program to postseason berths in the state’s highest classification he played a key role in a facility upgrade for the school that included a new strength center, locker room and coaches’ offices.
His wife, the former Laura Henderson, was a member of the Canadian national golf team for over 10 years, going on to play collegiately at Georgia prior to coaching the women’s golf team at both UGA and Oklahoma State.  The couple has one daughter, two-year-old Lilly.
The Matthews File
Born: Nov. 2, 1977, in Atlanta, Ga.
Education:
 Georgia ’99, bachelor’s degree in exercise science
 Georgia ’02, master’s degree in science education
Collegiate Playing Experience:
 Three years, Georgia
Coaching Experience:
 Oconee (Ga.) High — assistant coach , 1999
 Camden County (Ga.) High — assistant coach , 2000
 North Gwinnett (Ga.) High — assistant coach , 2001-02
 Shiloh (Ga.) High — head coach, 2003-05
 Oklahoma State — assistant coach/director of recruiting, 2006-09
 Southern Mississippi — assistant coach, 2010-11
 South Alabama — assistant coach, 2012-
Family: Wife, Laura; One daughter, Lilly (2)
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